Navigating the Transition From School to Work: The Impact of Career Development Activities and Services on Graduate Labour Market Outcomes was written by Ken Chatoor, Hagar Effah, Haleemah Shah and Amy Kaufman, Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.
Experiential learning, networking, and institutional support services are pivotal in graduates’ transition from school to the workforce.
While a postsecondary education (PSE) credential leads to better earnings, benefits and other markers of quality employment, it doesn’t guarantee an easy transition into the workforce. Many PSE graduates – particularly those from equity-seeking backgrounds – struggle to establish themselves in the labour market immediately after graduation. The support services and activities offered by PSE institutions during that pivotal period of transition can help give grads a solid start in their careers.
The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) conducted a study to determine which activities students participated in and how effective they were in supporting their school-to-work transition. HEQCO surveyed 271 recent four-year bachelor’s degree graduates from publicly assisted Ontario colleges or universities and interviewed 11 of those recent graduates. The results indicated that experiential learning, sector-specific resources and networking were the most helpful to graduates’ successful transition into the labour market.
Experiential learning, such as co-op and work-integrated learning opportunities, provided the necessary experience in graduates’ chosen sector to help them promote themselves to potential employers and secure a job in their field after graduation. Practical and sector-specific resources, including workshops on resume writing, technical skills and job interview skills, were the career services that were most helpful. Awareness of these career-transition supports and their benefits could be improved, as many study participants did not know their institutions offered them. Finally, networking – especially while on job placements – was a crucial element in finding quality employment after graduation. Graduates who networked were not only more likely to be employed, but also more like to find work in their field that both met their expectations and was satisfying.
HEQCO’s data also revealed a disparity, in that graduates from equity-seeking groups experienced significantly less positive employment outcomes. This important finding will be explored further in future HEQCO research.